Panic Attacks, Practical And Straightforward. The Most Up-to-date Information

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

A lot is now being said about panic attacks (it is customary to use the abbreviation PA) or panic attacks. “These are relatively short-term bouts of intense fear, including intense bodily reactions that are not the result of organic disorders or diseases, which are unproductive exaggerated, inappropriate to the circumstances, distress reactions in nature.

Bodily reactions

• a feeling of heaviness in the chest, pain, weakness, trembling, chills are possible;
• increased sweating;
• numbness of hands and feet;
• heart palpitations;
• dizziness, a feeling of lethargy, a feeling of approaching fainting;
• discomfort in the stomach, nausea;
• feeling of extreme cold or heat;
• the heart beats very hard, "freezes" or "beats hard"
• headache, pain in the chest and other parts of the body
• lump in throat, hard to swallow
• feeling that you need to urgently go to the toilet
• numbness or tingling, especially in the fingers, toes, or lips
• shiver
• sweating or blood rushes to the face
• sometimes there are paresthesias, cramping of the hands

Breathing reactions need to be highlighted separately.

• breathing is greatly accelerated
• shortness of breath, rapid convulsive breathing
• hyperventilation occurs, spontaneous intense breathing provokes dizziness

The so-called derealization and depersonalization - as if you are separated from everything that surrounds you, or it is not happening to you, an altered state of consciousness, a distortion of the perception of time and space, a feeling of loss of control, an experience of helplessness, a distortion of the body image, “betrayal of the body”

feeling as if you are losing consciousness, dizziness, "cotton feet"

Panic fatal thoughts are the result of confusion, misunderstanding, interpretation of the bodily reactions that have arisen, or can trigger panic by themselves.

unpleasant, excruciating, restless, and catastrophic thoughts such as:

• "I'm going crazy",
• "I'll die now",
• "I am in danger",
• "I have a heart attack"
• I'm losing control
• I'm losing control
• "I'm going to scream" and so on.

Sometimes this reaction is triggered by a strong stressful experience, but at the same time, fear often seems unfounded, arising from scratch.

Fear reactions are usually irrational, do not correspond to the significance of the stimulus, and sometimes seem completely unreasonable.

Panic attacks are, as such, a normal response to an extraordinary stressful experience. But sometimes, after the experienced experience, these attacks are repeated again and again, sometimes for no apparent reason. In this case, we are talking about panic disorder.

Panic Disorder (PD) is a fairly common occurrence. Panic disorder often affects people who are mentally healthy from the point of view of psychiatry. This is an unusual diagnosis.

There are several popular points of view about the treatment of PD. Practice shows that PR is treated quickly enough with the correct selection of strategies and methods. Some areas of body psychotherapy, hypnotherapy, DPDH, CBT and some short-term psychodynamic therapy are effective.

Long-term treatment of PD may be related to the presence of concomitant mental, emotional or personality disorders and / and secondary benefits, or incorrect choice of strategies and methods.

I will describe two strategies, a rapid one, where the therapist plays a major role, and a minimal intervention strategy, where the therapist explains, instructs, teaches exercises, and gives assignments.

In psychotherapy, we usually find that panic reactions have their own trigger - the situation after which this reaction was triggered. Another thing is that the reaction may not follow stress immediately, but after a while. When panic is caught by surprise and the reaction seems inexplicable, the person feels helpless and this intensifies the anxious reaction.

It turns out that the fear caused by unpredictability, helplessness and loss of control triggers a mechanism that amplifies anxiety and fear with the possibility of its return at the most unexpected moment. The paradox is that it is the anxious expectation of panic that provokes the return of these symptoms again and again. We will talk about the mechanism of this phenomenon later.

In psychotherapy, we noticed that clients who are inclined to control everything are more vulnerable to PR. And this is the next paradox - people strong-willed, persistent, irreconcilable, despising weaknesses suffer just as often as anxious and hypochondriac people. They are the ones who fall into the trap of this “treacherous weakness”.

Hypochondria in the context of psychotherapy, in contrast to ordinary understanding, describes not only melancholy but also an obsession with bodily symptoms, an exaggerated constant suspicion of various diseases. This honesty, as well as the one described above, distinguishes another category of clients vulnerable to PR.

About correct diagnosis.

People suffering from PA and similar disorders often do not trust psychiatrists and psychologists or simply do not understand who to turn to and whether all this will turn against them. This is understandable.

Some were burned about incorrect ineffective treatment, wasting time, money and disappointment

Some are afraid that going to a psychiatrist could affect their lives.

Many fear that they will be treated with psychiatric drugs, which will only harm them.

Some do not understand who to turn to - a psychiatrist, psychotherapist or psychologist.

The unpleasant truth is that at this time most of these specialists do not know how to qualitatively diagnose and treat PA / PR. Indeed, there are psychiatrists who treat exclusively with medicines, there are quality psychologists and psychotherapists who are effective in other areas but do not have the appropriate qualifications to work with PA and PR. I became impressed with how incorrect work caused harm, it will be possible to learn about the rules of safety and ecology in patience in several chapters of the book.

Good news:

In most cases, PA / PR can be treated well without medication.

You can undergo diagnostics and refuse medication. Everyone has the right to calculate and receive a report on their diagnosis, including diagnosis and recommendations.

You can turn to another professional for a second opinion, compare the reports before deciding on the course of treatment

Who to contact:

Qualitative diagnostics can be performed by a psychiatrist, psychotherapist or clinical psychologist who has experience in the clinic or has undergone appropriate training with internship and supervision. You can always ask a professional about this. Moreover, now the information can be viewed on the websites and pages of professionals. A red flag for a psychiatrist is a negative attitude towards psychotherapy, this happens despite the completely objective scientific data on the effectiveness of psychotherapy and the limitations of drug treatment. A red flag for a psychotherapist is a negative attitude towards psychiatry, refusal to understand the boundaries of competence, inability to work in tandem with a psychiatrist, if necessary.

Psychologists:

A wonderful solution is to send the client to a quality proven diagnostician, who in no case does not beat off clients. First, clinical experience tailored to diagnostics is always appropriate. Secondly, one head is good, and two is better, a second opinion and recommendations can be very useful.

I myself sometimes send my clients to a trusted diagnostician. She studied therapy with me, but she has specialized in diagnostics for a long time. Yes, and I do not particularly like diagnostics, I prefer to deal with therapy more. Specialization and division of labor are highly productive.

Even better news is the simple solution:

My high-quality diagnostician with clinical education and relevant experience works online and I can safely recommend it to both clients and psychologists:

YANA STAGER

You can count on quality, care and a detailed report with recommendations for therapists. Don't forget to say hello from me

And for therapy, it makes sense to contact me. If I do not have the opportunity to accept, I will be able to redirect to another professional in my group, verified and trained at the appropriate level

Viber: 380 96 881 9694.

Skype: ecoaching-skype

And now in more detail: below is a cycle of video lessons about the nature and treatment of PA

For professionals and clients. Psychophysiology, interesting useful facts and paradoxes, practical recommendations

And now in more detail: below is a cycle of video lessons about the nature and treatment of PA

For professionals and clients. Psychophysiology, interesting useful facts and paradoxes, practical recommendations

Vicious circle PA / PR

First circle of hell:

1 An experience creates a sense of danger

2 The sensation of danger triggers the appropriate mechanisms of survival - the release of hormones (cortisol, adrenaline), the heart rate increases, the blood vessels narrow, the muscles tense, the state of readiness to flee or fight.

3 Strongest emotions cause unbearable tension, tension builds

4 An active flight or fight reaction is not possible or seems even more dangerous, this process is unconscious

5 Increasing stress reactions without splash provoke hyperventilation, which leads to distortion of perception, a feeling of loss of control, dizziness, weakness, along with tension.

6 The most powerful feeling that something dangerous is happening and you need to act instantly, but in your head there is chaos and confusion. The biological reactions of survival do not fit into the situation in any way, and are not intelligible to the mind.

7 The body fails, the mind fails, perception is distorted, loss of control and not understanding what to do, incite panic even more, and with it a sense of danger, now based on their own experiences and not reality

8 In the body, both animal reactions and children's reactions (from hit-and-run to crying) are activated and instantly suppressed, now unconsciously sorting out ways to release tension. But built-in social mechanisms suppress these reactions, turning them into muscle clamps in the appropriate places.

9 The sensations and reactions of the past revive, in which there were similar experiences of fear, impotence, etc., and dramatic fatal thoughts about oneself from these experiences. There are no memories - only emotions, reactions and conclusions.

10 the reaction from childhood is triggered - to freeze in a stupor, hysteria, rush around, bleeding off some of the tension, but at the same time fixing erroneous conclusions corresponding to children's perception

Tension does not find a way out, but conclusions and thoughts give a small illusion of understanding and control of slow relief. Oddly enough, thoughts like: "This all means that I am an eternal loser" in this context give relief.

Feelings and emotions are sharpened to the utmost and many details are vividly imprinted in the memory.

Second circle of hell

The situation has already ended, but hormones still keep the body in an agitated state, sometimes not allowing a normal rest to recover. The heart beats intensely, the body obeys poorly, much is not clear.

There was a distrust of his body, dissatisfaction with his not at all heroic reaction.

Any event or interaction against this hormonal background can be perceived with fear or anger, even harmless. And this again accelerates the hormonal response and the corresponding reactions.

If different stressors continue to activate this process, interfering with rest, distorting perception, accustoming us to the fact that our hero is doomed to eternal suffering, the body is saturated with free radicals and other toxins. The mind finds an explanation for this because it does not tolerate ambiguity, and the explanation, as a rule, contributes to the consolidation of the habit of such a reaction.

Third circle of Hell:

Already after a time, when the danger is already behind something resembling the situation or holding, described above, you can start the whole reaction entirely.

This happens because the entire set of images, sounds, smells and experiences of the indicated experience has turned into a single complex, which is etched into the memory under the heading: DANGER! (avoid!)

And now, for no apparent reason, our hero has some innocent component, like the smell of burnt rubber, unpacking the entire set.

The hero often does not even realize what provoked this reaction and why, and to this is added another nightmare: "it can happen at any moment."

Further, this uncertainty forces us to sort out all possible explanations. The champions of this race: "I'm going crazy", "I'm having a heart attack", "I'm dying", all sorts of strange diseases … divine punishment, corruption are less common.

Avoiding everything that can trigger this reaction soon turns into avoiding everything that causes emotions, driving people to agoraphobia (sitting at home, as the outside is full of everything unpredictable)

From now on, they are not afraid of events, but of their own reactions.

The body is constantly tense, in a state of readiness, shallow breathing, as if afraid to provoke any feeling.

And it is the fear of uncertainty and avoidance that hones our willingness to reproduce PA. Tolerance to uncertainty decreases, calmness and relaxation cease to be natural and accessible states, adaptability decreases.

And again the first two circles of hell in a circle.

The mind comes up with a philosophy that supports avoidant habits, finding justification and explanation in such a way that everything associated with surprise, spontaneity, contacts with new experiences and people seems negative.